Mechanical musical instrument.



J. MQTAMMANY. MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLIUATION FILED MAB. 4, 1907. 908,798.

Pzitented Jan. 5, 1909.

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J. MOTAM'MANYQ- MEGHANIGAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 4, 1907. 7. 908,798. Patented Jan. 5, 1909. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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J Q i Q g 1 Q N t w 3 2 w-n'o W a 1x \30 h ii R UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN MCTAMMANY, OF STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT.

MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

Application filed March 4, 1907.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN IVIGTAMMANY, of Stamford, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mechanical Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to mechanical musical instruments, characterized by the employment of a plurality of pickers for operating or causing the operation of the sounding devices, an actuator which effects the operation of the pickers, and a perforated selector which governs the operation of the pickers, although, so far as certain features of the invention are concerned, they may be embodied in mechanical musical instruments of other types.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an instrument in which the tone of the sounding devices is unmufi'led, and to this end a novel arrangement is provided by locating the sounding devices and their ickers in front of the selector. In accorc ance with this arrangement, the musical sheet is not interposed between the sounding devices and the auditor so as to muffle or suppress the tones, and the pickers may be exposed to view so that the auditor may observe the operation of the instrument.

Another object of the invention is to provide an instrument in which an endless selector of undeterminate total length may be employed so that the instrument may be capable of reproducing as many times as may be desired, a composition of considerable length such as an overture or concerto. This is preferably accomplished in accordance with the present invention by mounting the action upon a substantially upright support with a free space therebeneath, so that the selector may be accommodated and permitted to form into folds at the bottom of the space. To further accomplish this result, as well as to so dispose the action that the selector will be behind or in the rear of the pickers and the sounding devices, the ickers and the sounding devices are preferably mounted upon a hinged frame or support which may be swung forward out of its active or operative position to permit the insertion or remova of the selector. Due to the fact that, in the particular embodiment of the invention which has been illustrated upon the drawings and which will be Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 5, 1909.

Serial No. 360,402.

subsequently described, the pickers, though governed by the selector, are actually oper ated by an actuator consisting of a grooved or fluted roll, I preferably journal the actuator in a pivoted support so that the endless selector may be placed upon the actuator.

In addition to the features thus briefly referred to, the invention includes others which will be described in detail and set forth in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings Figure 1 represents in front elevation a complete instrument embodying the invention. Fig. 2 re resents a section on the line 22 of Fig. 1. F 011 the line 33 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4represents a similar section with the hinged support swung upward and outward. Fig. 5 represents in front elevation one end of the icker shaft and the adjacent parts. Fig. 6 1 lustrates in section the picker shaft and the pickers thereon. Fig. 7 illustrates several of the dampers. Fig. 8 illustrates in detail the actuator and its supporting frame. Fig. 9 represents a plan view of the same with the actuator moved outward for the rece tion of a selector. Fig. 10 represents an en elevation of the means for rotating the actuator.

Referring to the drawings, an instrument is illustrated which is one embodiment of the invention. The instrument consists of an upright case 20, which is paneled and ornamented as desired. The case is divided by a horizontal partition 21 into two main compartments. The upper compartment is again divided by an upright transverse plate or partition 22 into an upper front compartment 23 and an upper rear compartment 24. The partition 22 constitutes the sounding board of the instrument. In the compartment 23 is located the action and in the compartment 24 is located the motor from which power is transmitted to the operative portions of the instrument. The lower compartment is divided into three compartments by upright partitions 25, 25, which extend from the front to the rear of the case. The middle compartment 26 serves to receive the selector which passes through an opening in the horizontal partition, whereas the side compartments are horizontally divided by shelves 27, 27, to provide pigeon-holes 28 for the reception of the selectors or music sheets. The front of the case is closed by a hinged door 30, which is ig. 3 represents an enlarged section glazed so as to disclose to view the action and a portion of the selector. I have described the case in detail because, as will be explained, it is particularly adapted for the mechanism which I utilize and forms a part of the present invention.

As previously indicated, I employ selectors which consist of elongated perforated sheets. These sheets, in accordance with my invention, are made of flexible material, preferably paper, and they are of any convenient length. While in accordance with the present invention, I preferably connect the ends of each selector so as to form, as it were, an endless band, nevertheless the entire invention is not limited thereto. The advantage of employing a selector consisting of an endless band is that the selector may be perforated so as to effect the production of a number of compositions so that the compositions may be given one after the other without the necessity of removing the selector this being often times a necessary feature in a coin-controlled machine, in which the invention may be also embodied. On the drawings an endless selector is indicated at 31.

Referring to Figs. 3 to 10 inclusive, 32 indicates a base plate which is attached to the sounding board 22, as shown in Fig. 2, any suitable means being utilized for securing it in place. Said base plate is formed with a large aperture 33 immediately in the rear of the action. Said base plate is provided with two forwardly projecting ears or lugs 34, 34 between which is pivoted the end bar 35 of the frame having a cross bar 36 and a second end bar 37. Screw pins 38 pass through the ears or lugs 34 into the ends of the end bar 35 and constitute pivots to permit the frame 36 to be swung about a vertical axis. The other end bar 37 is adapted to swing between ears or lugs 39, which, when the frame is in its active position, support the free end thereof as illustrated in Fig. 8. This frame forms a support for what is termed the actuator. This actuator consists of a grooved or slotted roll 40, the reduced ends of which are journaled in bearings 41, 41 on the end bars 35, 37 of the frame. Midway between its ends, the roll or actuator is provided with conical teeth or points 42 which are adapted to enter the lines of perforations at extending longitudinally of the selector midway between its side edges so that, when the grooved roll is rotated, the selector is fed thereby. By swinging the frame forward, as shown in Fig. 9, the endless selector may be placed upon the actuator with the teeth or points 42 registering with the apertures in the selector. It is to be observed that the upper edge of the cross bar 36 is beveled as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 so that the rear stretch of the selector may not be impeded in its upward movement toward the actuator. This cross bar, as shown in Fig. 3, also acts somewhat as a guide for the selector.

The base plate 32 is formed with forwardly projecting ears 43 (see Figs. 2 and 3) between which is hung a support 44. This support also has ears 45, and through the cars 43, 45, are passed screw pins 46 arranged horizontally so that the support 44 may be swung upward into position shown in Fig. 4. Normally the support 44 hangs downward in front of the roll-carrying frame as shown in Fig. 3. The sup ort is formed atits lower end with ears or ugs 47 for the reception of a locking bar or shaft 48. These cars 47 are adapted to pass between ears or lugs 49 on the plate 32, said lugs 49 being provided with key-hole slots 50 open at their smaller ends. The ends of the bar 48, which project beyond the lugs 47, are flattened so that they may pass into the smaller ends of the slots 50 and then be rotated so as to lock the support 44 against forward movement. ()n the projecting end of the bar or shaft 48, there isa milled head 51 by which it may be rotated. The support 44 has a transverse slot 52 to receive the grooved actuator, and as shown in Fig. 3, the lower wall of the aperture is beveled or rounded to form a guide for the front stretch of the selector. By means of the construction just described, the support may be moved forwardly so as to expose the selector and the actuator, and the actuator may be swung about its vertical axis or pivot so as to permit the removal of the selector or the insertion of a different selector.

The pickers 53, of which there is a plurality, are supported upon what may be termed a picker shaft 54. This shaft is journaled at its ends in bearings 55 on levers 56 mounted on horizontal pivots 57. Each of these levers is projected beyond its pivot as at 58, and between the projecting end and the support are sprin s 59, by which the picker shaft is held yieldingly toward the support. The pickers take the form of starwheels; that is to say, each picker 60 comprises a hub having radiating fixed teeth 6]. which are slightly beveled as shown. These pickers are strung upon the shaft 54 as illustrated in Fig. 6; that is to say, on the shaft is placed a disk 62 and on the disk is mounted a picker 60. Then there is placed upon the shaft a washer or spacer disk 63, then another disk 62 and picker 60, then a washer 63, and so on. Pressure is then exerted axially upon the various members assembled on the shaft so as to bind them frictionally together, and suitable collars or sleeves, as at 65, are secured upon the shaft by any suitable means. It will be observed that the pickers are of less thickness than the disks 62 upon which they are mounted, so that,

while said pickers are free to rotate rela tively to the washers and the disks, nevertheless when there is no opposition to their rotation, they will be rotated by their frictional engagement with said washers and disks. The shaft 54 is in such relation to the actuator 40, when the parts are in position shown in Fig. 3, that the tooth of a picker which registers with an aperture in the selector, may engage the teeth on the roll and be moved forward one step. By mounting the picker shaft in yielding bearings, the pickers are adapted to yield so as to prevent tearing of the paper. The paper follows a tortuous path about the actuator so as to intersect the path of movement of the teeth on the pickers. The shaft 54 is rotated by means to be described and one tooth on each of the pickers bears against the selector with a yielding pressure. As soon as a perforation registers with a tooth on one of the pickers, the picker begins to rotate, being frictionally impelled by the shaft and the friction washers thereon until said tooth enters between two teeth on the roll 40 and then the roll impels the picker one step of its revolution until the next tooth of the picker bears against an unperforated portion of the selector. In the event that the perforation in the sheet is elongated, the picker will be rotated step by step by the actuator or fluted roll until the tooth on the picker bears against an unperforated part of the selector, so as to produce what may be termed a trill.

The articular tone producing devices which have illustrated comprise mechanical combs, indicated at 63 and 64. I have shown two combs but I may use more or less according to the volume of sound that is to be produced. These two combs are secured in any suitable way upon brackets 65, 66 attached to the support 44. There is onetonguc on each comb for each picker, the pickers at a point intermediate or half way between the ends of the shaft 44 being omitted as otherwise they would engage the points or feeding teeth on the actuator.

The actuator and the picker shaft are actuated from a driving gear 67 (see Figs. 2, 3, and 10). Said gear intermeshes with and drives a pinion 68 on the reduced end of the actuator, as illustrated in Fig. 10, when the actuator is in its active or operative position. On the end of the picker shaft 54 is a larger pinion 69 which is adapted to intermesh with the pinion 68 when the support 44 is in its operative position.

The driving gear 67 is secured on a shaft 96 which latter has a bevel gear 95 engaging and driven by a bevel gear 94 on an upright shaft 93 having a pinion driven by a gear 82 on the hub of a spring motor 79. Said spring motor is mounted on a base plate 70, and has a top disk 81 connected by pins 80 with the gear 82. A suitable starting and stopping device is operated by a shaft 88 having a handle 89.

To prevent the folds of the selector from falling outward when the door of the case is opened, I locate at the front of the middle compartment upright rods 98, 98, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The dampers 99 are supported by a bar 100 carried by the support 44.

I do not herein'claim broadly the combination with the selector which governs the action of the pickers, of the actuator which imparts movement to the pickers, and the pickers, as the same is claimed in co-pending application, Serial No. 96,381, filed March 3, 1902.

Having thus explained the nature of the invention and described a way of constructing and using the same, although without attempting to set forth all of the forms in which it may be made or all of the modes of its use, I declare that what I claim is 1. In a mechanical musical instrument, an upright case, a horizontal partition therein, a vertical partition forming a sounding board and dividing the space above the horizontal partition into a front compartment and a rear compartment, a motor arranged in the rear compartment, and an action located in the front compartment and supported upon said upright partition, the horizontal partition being formed with an opening for a selector sheet and the space below said partition being free to accommodate such sheet.

2. In a mechanical musical instrument, an upright case, a horizontal partition therein, a vertical partition forming a sounding board and dividing the space above the horizontal partition into a front compartment and a rear compartment, a motor arranged in the rear compartment, an action in the front compartment and su ported upon said vertical partition, uprig t partitions dividing said case below the horizontal partition into upright compartments, and shelves dividing the outer upright compartments into pigeonholes.

3. In a mechanical musical instrument, an upright case, a horizontal partition therein, a vertical partition forming a sounding board and dividing the space above the horizontal partition into a front compartment and a rear compartment, a motor in the rear compartment, and an action in the front compartment, the space below the horizontal partition being adapted to receive the folds of a flexible selector.

4. In a mechanical musical instrument, an upright support, sounding devices located in front of said support and supported thereon; and means for directing a selector from behind the support to position to control the sounding devices.

5. In a mechanical musical instrument, a base, a support hinged thereon, pickers mounted on said support, and a feeder for a sheet located between the pickers and the base and adapted to be exposed when the support is moved about its hinge.

6. In a mechanical musical instrument, a base, a feed roll, a hinged support, a selector between the support and the feed roll, a picker shaft, pickers on the shaft, and yield ing bearings for said shaft on said support.

7. In a mechanical musical instrument, a selector, a plurality of selectorgoverned pickers in front of the selector, and a support for the pickers movable to expose the selector.

8. In a mechanical musical instrument, a selector, a feed roll behind the operating por tion of the selector, a plurality of selectorgoverned pickers in front of the selector, and a pivoted support for the pickers.

9. In a mechanical musical instrument, a selector, a displaceable feed roll therefor, a plurality of selector-governed. pickers in front of the selector, and a movable support for the pickers.

10. In a mechanical musical instrument, a selector, a feed-roll therefor, a pivoted frame for the feed-roll, a displaceable support, and a plurality of selector-governed pickers on said support.

11. In a mechanical musical instrument, a ivoted actuator adapted to receive a seector consisting of a perforated band, in

combination with a displaceable support, and pickers yieldingly mounted on said support.

12. In a mechanical musical instrument, a pivoted actuator adapted to receive a selector consisting of a perforated band, in combination with a pivoted support, a picker shaft yieldingly mounted on said support, pickers on said shaft, and sounding devices also mounted on said support.

18. In a mechanical musical instrument, an actuator having feeding teeth adapted to feed a perforated flexible band, in combina tion with a displaceable support, a plurality of selector-governed actuator-operated pickers, and means for yieldingly mounting said pickers on said support.

14. In a mechanical musical instrument, an upright base, an actuator pivoted at one end to said base to swing on a vertical axis, a support also pivoted to said base to swing away from said actuator, and pickers mounted on said support.

15. A mechanical musical instrument comprising a selector consisting of a flexible perforated band, a single feed and supporting roll for said band from which the selector depends, and an action controlled by the selector and actuated by said roll, in combination with a case inclosing said roll and said action and having a compartment to receive the depending portions of said selector.

16. A mechanical musical instrument comprising a driving gear, a feed-roll pivotally mounted at one end and having a gear on its other end adapted to engage the driving gear, and a displaceable picker shaft having a gear adapted to intermesh with the gear on the feeding roll.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN MOTAMMANY.

I/Vitnesses:

THOMAS HOYT, B. E. MILLER. 

